


Ensnared

by escape2020



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asphyxiation, Ben is 18, Blackmail, Bullying, Controlling Ben Solo, Drum Major Rey, Drummer Ben, Emo Ben Solo, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Loss of Virginity, Marching Band, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Pregnancy, Rey is 16, Teen Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:15:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28682403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/escape2020/pseuds/escape2020
Summary: Rey is the drum major of her high school marching band, and sometimes her illusions of power and grandeur get to her head. Some people might just call her a bitch, but Rey doesn't let those people get to her. Except for Ben, who is probably the laziest, most undeserving, rich kid she's ever met. If he could just follow directions, they wouldn't have a problem, but Ben would rather give Rey a taste of her own medicine. This is a story about a battle of wills - it's hard to say who will come out on top.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 46
Kudos: 94





	1. Chapter 1

I arrived at marching band rehearsal earlier than everyone else, besides Mr. Skywalker, the band director. That’s my job after all as the drum major, and I take my job very seriously. I have to make sure everyone else is on track, corral them into place, and get rehearsal started on time. We have our first football game coming up in two weeks, so everything needs to be perfect. I like everyone to be on the football field at 4:00pm on the dot, but there are always a handful of stragglers coming in late, usually a few low brass or percussionists. It doesn’t matter though, I’ll start without them - let them get run down by the other students as they scramble to find their place on the field.

Even though band camp ended a few weeks ago, we still have a lot of work to do in order to get the halftime show performance-ready. Everyone is supposed to memorize all of their music and all of the field formations during the week of band camp, but inevitably, we run drills until the night prior to the first football game. Despite our underpreparedness though, I’m excited for the first game. The last two years I marched with everyone else, but this year I’m up on the podium, wearing my special uniform, directing a band of about one-hundred. Our halftime show this year is video game music. We’re playing arrangements of Bounty Hunter, Halo, and Kingdom Hearts. The music is starting to sound really great, but the marching still needs work. 

At 4:00pm sharp, I blow my whistle a few times to get everyone’s attention. I won’t admit it to anyone, but I like using my whistle, it makes me feel powerful. No one else has a whistle, except for Mr. Skywalker.

“ _Set!_ We’re starting at the top of Kingdom Hearts tonight,” I shout across the field. Everyone makes their way to their starting positions on the field. It’s not as quick as I’d like because some people still don’t remember where to stand, but in a minute everyone is ready and _sort of_ standing at attention. I look to my left and right and see that Poe and Rose are looking for my signal, each stationed about twenty yards away from me in either direction. I couldn’t have asked for better assistant drum majors. I raise my arms up to chest height, outstretched in front of me, and Poe and Rose follow suit. With everyone’s eyes on me, I count off four beats then look over at pit percussion as I start conducting. The piece begins with a soft cymbal roll, everyone remaining in place until we reach the tempo change a few measures in. And of course, once everyone starts playing and moving on the field at the same time, chaos ensues. I blow my whistle hard to get everyone to stop.

“Reset back at the beginning! If you need to re-check your field coordinates, please do that now!” I glance at Rose and we exchange a subtle eye roll. She’s a flute player and I play clarinet -- when we marched, we _always_ knew where to move. 

Just as everyone is getting back into place, I see a figure leisurely making their way onto the field. As soon as I can make out the mop of black hair and the snare strapped to their chest, I cross my arms and narrow my eyes. I don’t know if he’s _trying_ to be disruptive, but he is certainly succeeding.

“Nice of you to join us, Solo,” I call across the field. He doesn’t respond other than to flip his stupid emo hair, so I turn my attention back to the rest of the band. He can talk to his little drummer goons to find out what we’re doing - I’m not wasting my time on him.

We start again, and this time we make it to the third formation before the field looks like a jumbled mess. Time to reset. This is rehearsal though, endless repetition is required if everyone is going to memorize their music and marching. Some people get annoyed by this, but to me, it’s all part of the process. Practice makes perfect, and if it were up to me, we wouldn’t stop until every note, every rest, and every step was perfect.

“From the top!” My eyes scan the field as I watch everyone moving back to their original positions. With dusk approaching, and the sky starting to darken, I easily catch the glow of a cell phone towards the back of the field. 

“Ben, phone away!” A few people turn to look at him and snicker. I think he’s glaring at me, but it’s hard to see from the distance between us. I just keep my eyes on him until he reluctantly stuffs his phone into his pants pocket. “Alright, we’re just going to work on the marching now. Let’s see if we can run through all the formations. Percussion will play, but everyone else, just sing your parts and focus on your marching.”

We start again, and this time, from my vantage point on the podium, it looks a lot better. The trumpets are having a great time singing their parts, really belting it out. That’s typical of them, they like attention -- why else would they choose that instrument? I smile despite myself -- this band is like a family to me. I don’t really have much family of my own, no siblings or living parents, so I’ve adopted these nerds.

Everyone reaches the last formation on the field and finishes singing the final notes. They keep their instruments raised until I lower my arms, signaling the conclusion of the piece. 

“Great work everyone, let’s reset and do that again, then we’ll add instruments back in.” There is a bit of grumbling, but everyone goes back to the beginning. Everyone except for Ben. He drops his head back in annoyance. 

“That was perfect, why the fuck do we need to do it again?” Always the smartass. He never seems to understand that if we just move through the drills efficiently, we could all get out early. It’s these little outbursts and feet-dragging that slow us down.

“Repetition is important for memorization, Ben.” I stand up tall when I’m speaking, I don’t like him questioning my authority in front of everyone. Unfortunately, he doubles down.

“It was _perfect_ , Rey. If you pulled the stick out of your ass, you would see that too.” The whole band is watching now. A few people whisper to each other and I can feel my face heating up. I look over helplessly at Mr. Skywalker who’s standing on the sidelines. I’m starting to feel a little out of my depth, and I wish he would intervene to save me from this embarrassment. 

“Ben, quit giving Rey a hard time before I tell your mother you’ve been causing trouble again.” Mr. Skywalker is Ben’s uncle, so he can say things like that. And this time, it’s Ben’s face that turns red. Thankfully, that shuts him up and he sullenly walks to his spot on the field so we can continue practicing. I don’t want him to have the last word though.

“See me after rehearsal, Ben,” I say sternly, then look away so I can start conducting again. I can see Poe and Rose exchanging a look out of the corner of my eye, but I ignore them, we’ve wasted enough time as it is.

Rehearsal ends when it’s too dark to see the lines on the field. Everyone heads back into the high school to put their instruments away. There’s nothing that I need to put away in there, but I always like to be the last one to leave; the band room ends up a disaster if I’m not watching over it. I also need to talk to Ben. I kind of regret saying that, but everyone heard me and if I don’t follow through on my threat, he might see it as a sign of weakness, and I can’t let that happen. 

I watch him in my periphery, joking with his friends, _not_ putting his drum away. As the band room is emptying, I catch him trying to sneak out without my notice, but I have hawk eyes, I see everything that happens in my domain. 

“Where do you think you’re going, Solo?” I ask with my chin up, looking down my nose at him. I can only do that because he’s still across the room. Once he gets closer, I’ll have to look up at him. _Is it weird if I stand on a stool while I reprimand him?_ I see him roll his eyes and nudge his friend Hux in the ribs. Hux is a good kid, I don’t know what he’s doing hanging out with Ben.

Ben ambles over, his face blank and unreadable. “What do you want?” He looks bored, and it’s unnerving.

“You can’t come to rehearsal late, we have a schedule to keep. And I won’t tolerate you talking back to me either.” Crossing my arms, I tap my foot, impatiently waiting for him to fight back like I know he will. But he just shifts his weight and takes a half step forward so that he’s towering over me. I have to crane my neck to keep eye contact, and out of the corner of my eye I can see that there’s no one else left in the band room. Even Mr. Skywalker is nowhere to be seen.

“What are you gonna do about it, pipsqueak? I’m the best drummer here -- I can come and go as I please. Face it, you need me.” He’s not smiling at all, and his eyes look hard. I try to back away from him but my back bumps against a wall. That makes the corners of his mouth quirk up for a second. “And the next time you have a problem, take it up with me, not my uncle,” he says, frowning, “unless you’re too chicken shit.”

My face is screwing up angrily and I can feel heat creeping up my neck. How dare he talk to me like that. “I don’t care _how_ talented you are, you’ll be sitting out the first game if you can’t follow the rules and show some respect. _You_ ,” I say, poking him in the chest, “are _replaceable_. If you can’t take orders, I’ll find someone else who will. Don’t fucking test me, Ben.” I’m not sure, but I think I’ve been raising my voice. Ben’s eyebrows are raised, but he looks more amused than afraid.

“Alright, alright, calm down. If I’d known it was shark week, I might’ve gone a little easier on you. I know how sensitive you women get,” he says with a smirk. 

At this point, I’m about to lose it. My hands are balled up in fists, but before I can punch his stupid face, Mr. Skywalker comes back in.

“Hey, what are you kids still doing here? I was just about to lock up.” His eyes bounce between us and I can see him reading the room. “Everything okay? Ben?”

Ben pulls his eyes from mine and backs away, finally giving me some room to breathe. “We’re fine, Luke. Rey was just telling me what a fuck-up I am.” Ben is exactly the type to call his parents and relatives by their first name. I think it’s disrespectful.

“That’s not what happened, Mr. Skywalker! I was just telling Ben he needs to come to rehearsal on time.” I don’t need to repeat what I said verbatim, I don’t want Mr. Skywalker to think poorly of me. I don’t usually talk like that either, Ben just brings it to the surface.

“She’s right, Ben. You could try caring a little more, or at least pretending like you do.”

“Whatever.” Ben flips his hair out of his eyes and grabs his drumsticks. “I’m going home, rehearsal’s over.” He doesn’t wait for an answer, just slinks out of the room, his car keys jangling in one hand.

Mr. Skywalker turns to me with an apologetic look on his face. “I don’t know what’s wrong with that kid sometimes. Try not to let him get to you, Rey.”

I nod and grab my jacket. He’s right -- Ben is barely a blip on my radar, not worth my time or energy. That’s the last time he gets under my skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was in high school, concert band and marching band were really important to me. During my junior year I was an assistant drum major, and during my senior year I was the head/lead drum major, though hopefully I wasn't as much of a bitch as Rey is! I certainly was (and am) a perfectionist though, so that will shine through in her character.  
> The music that Rey and Ben are playing was actually a halftime show that we performed one of the years that I was drum major. If I manage to give away my identity through this story, please feel free to not tell me!
> 
> If you're interested, here are links to the arrangements that we performed - this is the order they were played as well, if I'm remembering correctly:
> 
> https://www.jwpepper.com/Bounty-Hunter/10027099.item#/  
> https://www.jwpepper.com/Halo-Theme/10009948.item  
> https://www.jwpepper.com/Kingdom-Hearts/10027101.item#/


	2. Chapter 2

Band rehearsal is every other day during third period. I have calculus during second period, so it’s always a relief when the bell rings and I can exchange derivatives (still struggling with that) for music and friends. The band room is located in a sort of oasis in the high school. The performing arts has its own little hallway away from the hustle and bustle of the regular academic classrooms. The hallway has the band room, the choir room, the back entrance to the stage, a private stairwell, and _two_ single-occupancy bathrooms. During lunch periods, band kids can always be found hanging around the hallway to eat and socialize, like it’s a secret hangout that only we know about, which it pretty much is.

I breathe a sigh of relief when I enter the band room for rehearsal today, glad to be back where I belong. Rose and Poe are already there, milling around the front of the room and passing around the tuner. Half of the band is talking and the other half are practicing their music, creating a loud, dissonant cacophony of noises. I don’t mind it -- I like that everyone is excited to be here. 

However, at five minutes past the start of the period, Mr. Skywalker quiets the room to get rehearsal started.

“Alright kids, let’s start with a few warm-ups. F-major scale in half-notes, then take out ‘The Ultimate Warm-up.’ Everyone up out of your seats, you know the drill.” He waits for everyone to shuffle their music around, raise their music stands, and quiet down, then starts conducting the warm-ups. Rose, Poe, and I stand off to the side and chat amongst ourselves -- there doesn’t need to be four people conducting together when we’re just in the band room.

“Are you guys going to Hux’s party after the game this Friday?” Poe asks me and Rose in a hushed tone.

I look over to Rose to see what she’ll say first. I wasn’t actually aware of this party, but I don’t want either of them to know that, so I’ll just say whatever Rose says. If she doesn’t want to go, then I’ll say the same, but if she _is_ going, I don’t think it will matter that I wasn’t technically invited -- it’s always just other band kids at these things anyway.

“Yeah, I think so. It’s our junior year, we should have a little fun, right?” she says.

“Oh yeah, I was going to say the same thing.” I’m not sure I know how to have fun like other teenagers though. I don’t drink, or smoke, and I still have a curfew. But if Rose and Poe are there, I’m sure it will be a good time. 

“Me too. I heard Finn is going to be there and I think I’m finally going to ask him out.” Poe looks over at us anxiously to see our reactions. Finn is a theater kid that Poe has been crushing on for two years now, and I’m pretty sure Finn is into him too, but neither of them will make the first move. 

“That’s great, Poe! I’m sure he’ll say yes,” I say, and Rose nods emphatically in agreement. There’s no time to discuss it any further though because warm-ups are done and it’s time to rehearse the halftime show music. During indoor rehearsals, we focus on cleaning up the music since we don’t have enough time to practice marching on the field. So for the first half of the period, we work meticulously through rough spots in the music, and then, for the last half, everyone turns their stands around to play from memory. That exacerbates a few issues, but no one will have the sheet music with them during performances, so they’ll have to learn their parts sooner or later. Before long, the bell is ringing to signal the end of the period and everyone starts packing up their instruments. A few minutes later, another bell rings for the start of lunch. Rose, Poe, and I head out to the hallway with our brown bag lunches and sit up against a wall to eat. A few other people join us and I can hear them talking excitedly about the first football game of the season.

“Do you think the band is ready for Friday, Rey?” Rose asks. 

“I hope so...half the band doesn’t practice at home though, so that’s slowing us down. I keep telling them, twenty minutes a day and you’ll improve like _that_ ,” I say, snapping my fingers. I know I’m right, everyone _should_ be practicing more, but I also know that somehow, every year, the band pulls its shit together and we have great performances. I shouldn’t worry so much, but I’m a little possessive over the band, it’s kind of my baby. I’ve never had anything this special in my life before, and I’m determined to make the most of it before I graduate.

“What are you going to wear to Hux’s party?” Rose asks, changing the subject. 

I look down at my jeans and t-shirt. “Uh...this?” 

Rose rolls her eyes at me. “Absolutely not, let’s go to the mall tomorrow and pick out something hot for you.” 

I frown looking down at my beat-up vans. She might have a point, but I don’t like spending money. I have a part-time job working at the public library, but it doesn’t pay a lot and I’m saving for college. But I know it will make Rose happy if we go. “Fine, but only if you help me -- I never know what to try on.” 

Rose squeals and claps her hands. “Of _course_ , what are friends for?”

Poe doesn’t have much to say about any of this. Boys are so simple sometimes, they never think about what they’re going to wear or how their hair looks. I wish I had that freedom, to not care at all how I looked, but, then again, most of the boys I see at school are total slobs, and I’d hate for everyone to see me like that, as if I just rolled out of bed before coming to school. 

The bell rings to let us know lunch is over and we all groan. One more period left before the day is over. It’s always a strange feeling to me when I want the school day to end but I don’t have much to go home to. I live with my foster dad, Unkar, and I guess there’s nothing really wrong with him, but I can tell I’m a burden on him. He barely acknowledges my presence when I’m home, but that has a few perks to it. Besides curfew, I can pretty much do whatever I want and he doesn’t care. Maybe he wouldn’t even notice if I missed curfew, I’ve never done that before, so I wouldn’t know.

Rose and Poe head off to English class, which they have together, but my last period is a study hall, so I’ll be hanging around the band room until the final bell. It’s the perfect time for me to catch up on work and enjoy a bit of solitude. There are always a few people filtering in and out of the band room while I’m here, but for the most part I’m alone and free to do as I please. I’m all caught up on my homework today, so I think I’ll make some extra copies of sheet music while I’m here. People are always losing their music, so I try to have extras on hand; I don’t want anyone sitting out practice just because they’re careless with their belongings.

The copy room is attached to the band room. It’s a small space that heats up quickly from the copier, so sometimes I use it as a practice room in the winter. Now though, in September, it’s just hot and humid, and not in a good way. I’m feeding paper into the copier when I hear a soft click of the door closing behind me. I already had it closed most of the way, so I didn’t look up from what I was doing, assuming a draft pulled it shut.

I freeze when I feel a presence behind me. Somehow, I already know who it is. “What do you want?” I ask flatly.

“What? I can’t just come say to ‘hi’?” I hear Ben answer in a low voice.

I turn around, ready to tell him off, but when I do, he’s a lot closer than I thought. My back is up against the copy machine and he’s standing not more than twelve inches away. He’s got almost a foot of height on me, and from my position, he’s practically looming over me. He’s smirking, probably at the wide-eyed surprise on my face that I quickly morph into a hard glare.

“Ben, what do you need? Can’t you see that I’m busy?” I try to sound stern, but my voice quavers at the end. I _am_ irritated, but with the heat of the copier behind me and Ben’s body heat in front of me, I’m sure he can see the flush that I feel creeping up my neck; I hope he doesn’t think I’m nervous when I’m just annoyed.

“I wasn’t done with you yet,” he says, not elaborating any further. I know he’s talking about our last encounter, but I’m not eager to rehash that.

“I have nothing more to say to you, Ben, so you can forget it.”

“That’s fine, you don’t have to say anything,” he says, taking a step forward so that the distance between our bodies is so small that I swear I can feel the static electricity coming off of his clothes. I can smell him too -- Irish Spring and something musky, the smell of _him,_ I guess. It makes me squirm. I want to put some more space between us, but I’m trapped. “No more tattling to Luke. I don’t need you inserting yourself in my family, and I don’t need you telling me what to do. I’ll show up to practice whenever I please, I’ll play whenever I please, and I’ll _do_ whatever I please.” His eyes flick down my body for a second. “If you’ve got a problem with that, you take it up with _me_ , but I’d be careful about that if I were you. I’ll make your life fucking hell if you tempt me, got it?” 

I’m still frozen in place, eyes locked on his, unwilling to take a full breath in case my chest touches his. My hindbrain is yelling at me to run, but that would be a ridiculous response, and besides, I know he would catch me. I push back against my fight-or-flight response and decide to try standing up for myself instead. I have to endure the rest of the year with this idiot, so I can’t let him win this early on.

“I’m not scared of you, Ben. Threaten me all you want, but I’m not going to let you shirk your responsibilities to me and this band. Nothing you can say or do will make me back down.” 

He stands there quietly, eyes roving over my face until I’m starting to get unnerved again. _Just say something, already!_

“Oh, you think I’m bluffing, huh? That’s cute.” Ben reaches his hand up to my face, and I flinch, but he just smiles and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. His hand slips down from my ear to my chin to hold it lightly between his thumb and forefinger. “I don’t answer to you, understand?” He uses his hold on my chin to nod my head up and down for me. “There will be no more tattling, no more reprimands, because next time, I won’t be this nice, and you don’t want that, do you?” His fingers tighten almost painfully on my chin as he uses his hold to turn my head side to side. I still haven’t actually responded, but now he’s really starting to scare me, so I keep quiet. That seems to please him, because he smiles and drops his hand, lightly trailing it down my bare arm as he does. Goosebumps rise up along the path that his hand takes. “I’m glad we have an understanding, Rey. I’ll see you tomorrow, sweetcheeks.” 

Ben finally leaves, and I sink down onto the floor, hugging my knees to my chest and pressing my face to my folded arms. _I’m not going to cry, I’m not going to cry._

A hot tear rolls down my cheek and I angrily brush it away. How could I let him talk to me like that? I’m almost more upset with myself for letting it go down like that. I expect Ben to be the asshole that he is, but I shouldn’t have let him get away with it. At least no one else saw it though. 

I’m still sitting on the floor, the copier long gone quiet, when the final bell rings. I quickly get up and gather my things. The band room is always packed at the end of the day since so many use the instrument lockers for their textbooks too. I don’t want to see anyone though, not even Poe or Rose. I rush out of the band room and down the private stairwell that leads out into the parking lot. I find my 2003 Camry, which is easy to spot with its mis-matched paint on the driver’s side door, and hurry over to it. I think I can hear someone calling my name, maybe Rose, but I pretend not to hear. I need to get out of here. I know Ben isn’t following me, but I don’t think I’ll really calm down until I can lock my bedroom door behind me. 

“I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay…” I mutter to myself the whole drive home. If I say it enough times, I might come to believe it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you were curious, The Ultimate Warm-Up was something we used in my high school band; you can see a PDF of it here: https://freesheetmarchingband.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/the-ultimate-warm-up-score-and-parts.pdf
> 
> Also, I just made a twitter for fanfic stuff: @escape_2020_
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Cheshire_Smile for beta-reading! <3

It’s finally Friday, the morning of our first performance. The day feels like it’s going to drag on; I know I won’t be able to pay attention in class, instead I’ll be running through the halftime show over and over in my head. At least I have gym first period, which I usually hate (there are showers in the locker room, but we don’t get enough time to actually  _ use _ them), but I’m glad for it today; maybe I’ll be able to burn off some of this nervous energy. As usual, Mr. Fett doesn’t care what we do during class, as long as we don’t bother him. That means that I’ll be walking on the track with Rose (thank  _ god _ we’re in the same gym class) while the jocks play capture the flag or lift weights. I swear, those guys are more obsessed with their looks than half the girls in this school, always flexing and checking themselves out.

Rose and I quickly change into our gym uniforms and start our circuit. The weather has been cooling down the past couple of weeks, the stifling humidity of the summer beginning to disappear, and I feel  _ wired _ . Fall weather means football games, and football games mean halftime show performances. 

“What do you think, Rey?” I realize I’ve been daydreaming while Rose was talking to me.

“Sorry, Rose, what did you say?”

“I  _ said _ , do you think it’s too much if I wear my new dress to the party tonight? The one with the sequins on top?” Rose and I went shopping last night, or rather, Rose dragged me to the mall and let me know that I absolutely needed something new for Hux’s party. I came away with a new top from PacSun — a little more revealing than I’m used to, but Rose said it was ‘too hot to pass up.’ The dress she picked out for herself is a little flashy for my taste, but it suits her. 

“No, you look amazing in it, you  _ have _ to wear it tonight,” I reassure her. We’re going to get ready at her place after the game, and I know she’s going to try putting makeup on me. Maybe I should go along with it for once. We’re upperclassmen now, nearly full grown women, and makeup would make me look a bit older; people might take me more seriously. 

“You’re right, I look hot in that dress,” Rose winks and nudges me in the ribs. 

As we’re rounding the bend in the track, I smell something foul, like a skunk, and wrinkle my nose. Seconds later, we see a few people huddled together just outside the track. I can make out Hux’s bright red hair right away, and then, of course, there’s Ben, always by Hux’s side and made conspicuous by his height. Standing across from them is Kaydel, who I don’t really know — she’s in a higher social circle than me. She’s giggling and passing something to Ben, who brings it to his lips.

“Are they...smoking?” I whisper to Rose, slowing our walk to a crawl.

“Smells like it,” she says with a laugh. I roll my eyes. Could Ben literally be any more of a delinquent? 

“Hey!” I shout at the group. They turn to look at us, Ben raising his brows in amusement.

“What do you want, pipsqueak? This isn’t band rehearsal,” Ben says before taking a long drag of the joint.

“You can’t smoke here, it’s  _ illegal _ .” Ben bursts out laughing, puffs of smoke escaping his mouth as he does. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever heard him laugh, or display any emotion really.

“What’re you gonna do? Tattle on me?” He smirks and passes the joint to Hux, who’s watching our exchange with bloodshot eyes.

I’m furious at Ben’s sense of entitlement. He thinks he can get away with anything just because his family is rich and his uncle works at our school. He can think again, though. I open my mouth to answer that, yes, I absolutely  _ will _ tell on him, but then he starts talking again.

“Careful, Rey. I thought we had an understanding, hm?” Rose looks at me, confused, and my cheeks heat up. I haven’t told anyone about my run-ins with Ben, not even my best friend.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Ben, but you can go fuck yourself,” I say, before briskly walking away down the track.

“ _ Rey! _ ” Rose jogs to catch up to me. “What was that all about?” She’s staring at me incredulously. I don’t swear very often, but it seems now that every time I do, Ben is the source of my wrath.

“Nothing...Ben is just an asshole. I can’t believe the things he gets away with at this school. He won’t get away with  _ this  _ though — I’m going to tell Mr. Fett.”

“Are you sure? Ben’s a dick, but he’s so...big. What if he gets mad or something?” Rose sounds nervous, but I can’t let her get to me. I firmly believe that Ben needs to face some consequences for his behavior.

When we reach the front end of the track again, I call out to Mr. Fett. I’m a little out of breath from how quickly we walked here, but I report back what I saw, that Ben Solo is smoking weed — which is  _ illegal _ — on school property. Mr. Fett barely looks away from the capture the flag game he’s watching.

“Do you know how much paperwork I would have to fill out if what you’re saying is true?” Mr. Fett asks with a quick glance in my direction.

“But… I  _ am _ telling the truth.” I can’t believe he thinks I might be lying —  _ me _ , Rey Niima. I cross my arms and wait for him to say something else, something to acknowledge the very serious accusation I just made. But it seems he couldn’t care less.

“Look, Niima, if I didn’t see it, as far as I’m concerned, it didn’t happen.” He turns away from the game again to give me a quick, disdainful look. “And didn’t anyone ever teach you not to be a snitch?” My mouth falls open. Mr. Fett is such a  _ bro _ , one of the boys — I should have known he wouldn’t side with me. I storm off without another word, Rose hurrying behind me. Luckily, I won’t have to round the track again and see Ben, because a minute later, the bell rings to signal the end of the period. 

The rest of the day is a blur of scribbling notes, checking the clock, and surreptitiously glancing over my shoulder to see if anyone particularly tall is following me. Since nothing came of my reporting to Mr. Fett, I’m nervous that Ben will follow through on his threats. I was half hoping he was going to be dragged away by the police this morning, or at least receive a stern lecture, but I was not so fortunate. The last time I saw him, he said he wouldn’t be ‘nice’ to me anymore if I tattled on him again. I’m not sure what he meant by that, but I swear I’ll kick him in the balls if he tries anything.

After the final bell rings, I decide not to go home, I’ll stay and prepare for the football game. I still need to double-check that all of the uniforms came back from the dry cleaners and make extra copies of the stand music. Whenever our team makes a touchdown or has an interesting play, which is admittedly not often, we play a few bars of music to hype them and the crowd. Inevitably, a handful of people need my extra copies at every game.

Mr. Skywalker hasn’t gone home either, but he’s working in his office, so I’m alone in the band room until about 5:00pm when Rose and Poe join me. 

“You guys ready to fuckin’ rumble?” Poe yells when he enters the band room. I roll my eyes but laugh — I can always count on Poe to lighten the mood. He’s got the right idea, this should be a fun night.

“Hell yeah, let’s get some music going,” Rose says as she plugs an aux cord into her phone. I don’t know where Mr. Skywalker got them, but the band room has some seriously powerful speakers, and we make good use of them on game nights. Rose puts on her throwback party playlist as other students start to filter in. Everyone has to get their uniforms on and assemble their instruments, which really shouldn’t take very long, but with the music going and everyone excited, the 40 minutes before we leave is an event in itself.

“Braid my hair and I’ll do yours?” I ask Rose. I don’t know why, but the female drum majors always put their hair into french braids for game nights, it’s kind of a tradition.

“Duh, get over here,” she says. Before long, we’re laughing and singing along to the music and I’ve forgotten all about my worries from earlier. 

When our hair is done, I go over to the huge closets at the back of the band room to get my uniform. The space is deep and pitch black, but with the help of my phone light, I’m able to spot my uniform and drag it out to the front of the closet.

“Need help with that?” I close my eyes, anxiety instantly returning and tightening the muscles in the back of my neck. 

“No, Ben, Rose is going to help me into my uniform like she always does.” I still haven’t turned around, but based on the fact that I can smell his cologne, I’m sure Ben is close behind me. I wish he would just leave me alone for once — band is supposed to be my happy place, but he is putting a real damper on that.

“I insist,” he says, and reaches his long arms around me to pluck the hanger out of my hands. I wait until I hear that he’s retreated a step before turning around to leave the closet. Part of “getting ready” for the game includes friends helping each other into their uniforms since the jackets zip up the back. But I wouldn’t consider Ben my friend, and it makes me nervous when he’s so close.

“Go on then, skirt first.” He’s holding the skirt out to me, but I have to strip down to my base layers first, which means taking off my jeans. I’m wearing long johns underneath, but I still don’t want to take my pants off in front of Ben. Apparently this contemplation is taking too long for him though, because he clicks his tongue and steps forward to unbutton my jeans and yank them down to my knees. 

“ _ Ben _ ,” I say in a harsh whisper, not quite believing he just did that, “I don’t need your help!” I look around for Rose, but it’s hard to spot people in the now-crowded room. When I look back at Ben, he’s smirking. “Ugh, fine, just don’t make a big deal out of it,” I mumble, bending down to take off my Vans and pull my jeans the rest of the way off. I rip the skirt out of Ben’s hand, trying to ignore the smug look on his face as I step into it. “Jacket?”

“Aren’t you going to take off your hoodie first?” Ugh, he’s right. I quickly pull my hoodie over my head, just to remember that I’m only wearing a thin camisole with a built-in shelf bra underneath. 

“Happy? Now give me the jacket.” I’m doing my best not to cross my arms over my chest since that might draw his attention even more to the way my nipples are peaking the fabric.

“I don’t think so. Turn around.” What can I do? The clock is ticking and I need to get ready for the game. Begrudgingly, I turn around and wait for Ben to help me into my jacket. He reaches his arms around me and holds the garment out for me to put my arms through. Once they’re in, he pulls me back, hard, by the open panels. My back is pressed up against his chest as he slowly begins pulling the zipper up, one tooth at a time. He has one hand on the zipper’s pull tab and the other hand braced on my hip. As the zipper goes up, his other hand runs parallel along my side. It tickles a little bit and I squirm to get away from his fingers. But then the zipper stops. 

“Uh oh, looks like it’s stuck on your shirt, let me fix that.” Ben takes the opportunity to run his hand across my back, slipping his fingers under the hem of my cami to pull it free from the zipper. His fingers skate so lightly over my back that the fine hairs there stand up on end.

Finally, Ben finishes his excruciatingly long process of zipping me into the jacket. But before releasing me, he leans in close to my ear so that I can feel his breath on my neck. “I haven’t forgotten about our little talk, Rey. Come to Hux’s tonight for your punishment.”

Then, the heat is gone from my neck and Ben disappears into the crowded room. I’m dumbfounded for a moment. Rose, Poe, and I had planned on going to the party after tonight’s game, but I’m wondering if they’ll let me bail now. I don’t want to leave Poe alone when he’s in need of emotional support (tonight’s the night he finally asks out Finn), but I am also not interested in finding out what kind of punishment Ben is planning for me.

I’m startled from my thoughts when I hear Mr. Skywalker blow his whistle. “Alright kids, let’s load up — everyone on the bus.” 

When the huge countdown clock on the field reaches zero, everyone files out of the bleachers to line up on the sidelines. We enter the field and march to opening positions to the beat of the drumline’s cadence. I can’t deny the excitement that I feel as I step up the podium and salute the crowd with Poe and Rose. We about-face, I sweep my gaze across the whole band, making sure everyone is at attention, and then we start. For the next eight minutes, everyone holds perfect focus, marching into the formations and playing with gusto. When I lower my arms at the end of the Kingdom Hearts medley and everyone slowly takes their instruments from their mouths, I can’t help the smile that breaks out across my face. I step down from the podium as I hear a snare drum hit four downbeats, signaling everyone to march to the front of the field and back into the bleachers. When we’re finally out of sight of the crowd I squeal and pull Rose and Poe into a tight hug.

“We did it you guys!” They’re both beaming back at me.

“Everything went off without a hitch, you were worrying for nothing,” Rose said, grinning. Of course she was right, I always worry too much. Now, all we have to do is play a few stand tunes during the second half of the game and we will have made it through our first real performance as drum majors.

“Just another hour and we’ll be heading to Hux’s to kick back and blow off some steam,” Rose says, still smiling. And just like that, my stomach drops. In all of the excitement, I’d forgotten about Hux’s party. I look over at Poe who also looks nervous all of a sudden.

“You guys will be there for me, right? I’m gonna need a drink and a pep talk before I talk to Finn tonight.” 

“Of course, Poe! Right, Rey?” Rose looks at my equally anxious face with some confusion. I can’t tell her about Ben, though, so I play it off.

“Yeah, obviously, we would never leave you hanging.” That seems to relax Poe a little bit and I see his shoulders drop slightly. 

The rest of the football game passes too quickly. I try to keep my eyes down so that I don’t have to see Ben and think about the party (and my ‘punishment’), but I have to stand to conduct every ten minutes, and I catch him watching me whenever I look up at percussion. 

Before long, a loud buzzer signals the end of the fourth quarter. Everyone hurries out of the bleachers to board the bus, a few people already unzipping their friends’ jackets. I hang back, always the last one out, to make sure no one leaves anything behind. But really, I’m just stalling. The sooner I get on that bus, the sooner I have to confront Ben, and I’m not sure I’m ready to do that just yet. Maybe he’ll get drunk and forget all about it. But I don’t think that’s very likely, I know he’s been keeping tabs on me. If I just stick with Rose and stay vigilant all night, he won’t be able to get me; I’ll follow her into the bathroom if I have to. And on the off chance that we get separated, I’ll ditch the party. He’ll get bored of chasing me down eventually, I’m sure of it. If not though, if I’m wrong, I just hope he goes easy on me. He’s so much bigger than me, I don’t want to think about what he could do if he got me alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: @escape_2020_


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you [Cheshire_Smile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheshire_Smile) for beta-reading! <3
> 
> See the updated tags for CWs!

“That’s enough eyeliner, Rose, I barely look like myself!” I lean in close to the mirror to scrutinize Rose’s handiwork. It’s not  _ that _ much makeup, and I have to admit, the winged liner is a good look, but I’m not used to wearing much more than mascara and chapstick.

“Oh shut up bitch, you look hot,” Rose says playfully, fluffing my hair that she curled earlier. I look at Rose in the mirror, then break into a grin. I  _ do _ look hot, but I hope it won’t earn me too much attention at Hux’s party. My only goals for the night are to lay low, glue myself to Rose’s side, and stay sober enough to drive home when I’m ready to leave. Rose will probably stay all night, but I don’t have the same stamina for social events; crowds and chaos tire me out.

“Okay, you ready to go, or what?” Rose asks, touching up her blush at the same time. I take a deep breath and nod. Rose doesn’t know that Ben is waiting for me at Hux’s to do God knows what. I probably wouldn’t have let her doll me up so much if I wasn’t stalling. But I must be doing a good job of hiding my anxiety, because Rose just swings her keys around one manicured finger and motions for me to follow.

I pull out of her driveway in my beater while she speeds ahead in her Mercedes. Her parents have some money, to put it lightly, and the car was her 16th birthday present. She deserves it though, she takes care of her belongings; if it were my car, it would have just as much take-out garbage on the floor as my Camry currently has.

I drive the speed limit the whole way, stopping for every yellow light and sticking to the slow lane. When I finally park behind a long line of cars on Hux’s street, I see Rose standing outside of her car and texting, the glow of her phone screen lighting up her face. Second later, my phone buzzes.

_ Where are you?? I’ve been waiting here for 10 minutes! _

_ Look up :p _

Rose looks up from her phone, squinting into the darkness until she sees me waving my arms.

“Finally! I thought you were never gonna get here,” she says, looping her arm through mine.

“Well, I’m here,” I say, as we walk through the front door. There’s no need to knock, since I’m pretty sure no one would hear it over the music that’s blasting from inside. Hux’s parents must not be home — I hope their neighbors don’t call the cops tonight.

Rose is already talking my ear off, raising her voice to be heard over the music, and I feel bad, but I’m not really listening. Instead, my eyes are flitting from one face to the next, as discreetly as possible, to see if Ben is here already. I don’t think I’ll be lucky enough that he’s a no-show, but maybe I can get an hour in with my friends before he comes to torture- or “punish” me, as he put it.

Thankfully, I spot Poe before I see Ben. He’s standing by the drink table, taking a sip from his PBR every other second — I guess I’m not the only one who’s nervous tonight. Rose and I make our way over to him.

“Hey Poe,” I say, elbowing him lightly. Apparently he hadn’t seen us coming, because he jumps like he’s been spooked.

“Geez, Rey, don’t sneak up on me like that.” I raise my eyebrows and notice that Poe is kind of sweaty, and I follow his line of sight to see that he’s been standing there watching Finn talk to some senior I don’t recognize. 

“Uh, Poe, it’s kind of creepy the way you’re staring at Finn. You should just go over and say ‘hi.’” He looks at me like I have two heads.

“Say ‘hi’? I haven’t had enough to drink for that. What if I say something stupid? No. I’m going to have one or two more beers, and then I’m going to walk up and just ask him out — no mincing words or I’ll never get it out.”

I give him an odd look but just nod my head. “Whatever you need to do…” I glance over at Rose and she stifles a giggle by bringing a cup of punch to her lips. When she puts it down, she pours me one too. I don’t really drink, but what the hell, I can’t let Ben ruin my whole night — we’re supposed to be celebrating our first performance tonight.

We leave Poe to make a circuit around the room. I think I might actually be enjoying socializing. It’s nice to be out of our uniforms — people are treating me like their friend instead of the bitchy drum major, and I feel a pang in my chest. Maybe I take myself too seriously. I take another drink of punch to drown that thought. 

Before I know it, I’m on my second tall cup of punch, and I’m surprised, because I don’t really feel drunk — I don’t even think there’s very much alcohol in it because it tastes really good. Rose and I are sitting on a loveseat in a little alcove lit with string lights. It’s pretty, and I slump into the couch, enjoying myself for once. 

“Wait here a second, I have to pee,” Rose says, getting up. I wake from the haze I’m starting to settle into.

“No, I’ll come with you,” I say quickly. Rose gives me a strange look.

“Uh, that’s okay, I think I can handle a trip to the bathroom just fine on my own.” I can’t tell her that it’s  _ me _ I’m worried about, so I just nod and sink back into the couch. 

_ Two minutes alone, I can handle that, everything will be fine _ . I’m trying to reassure myself, but I’m watching the clock on my phone, and five minutes have already passed. Maybe there’s a long line at the bathroom, or maybe Rose got distracted on her way back. I’m not going to get up to find her though, because then we could end up separated even longer. 

I’m scanning the room and bouncing one knee to release some nervous energy when I see him. He doesn’t see me, but he’s a head taller than most of the people here, so he sticks out like a sore thumb. I’m watching him, unsure of what to do, when he turns his head and locks eyes with me. Someone is talking to him, and he laughs at whatever they’re saying, but he doesn’t look away. Instead, he starts weaving his way through the crowd towards me.

_ No.  _ I abruptly stand and struggle to maintain my balance as my head swims; there’s no way I could be drunk after two cups of juice, right? I’m still swaying when I feel two large hands firmly grab my elbows to steady me. My gaze slowly travels up to Ben’s face, knowing full well that it’s him before our eyes meet again. I’m nervous, but my head feels cloudy and he doesn’t look as menacing in this light as he normally does, so I don’t immediately rip my arms from his hold.

“Had some jungle juice, huh?” he says, eyeing my empty, overturned solo cup on the floor — I don’t remember dropping it.

“Uh, yeah, just a little bit,” I mumble.

“You know that stuff’s, like, 70% vodka, right?” He looks amused when my brow furrows. It didn’t  _ taste _ like vodka. He laughs, probably reading the confusion on my face.

“Why don’t we get you some water and go sit somewhere quiet.” It’s not a question — I don’t have much choice but to allow him to pull me away from the couch; I hope Rose can still find me when she gets out of the bathroom.

Ben walks over to Hux’s fridge and pulls out a bottle of water before steering me out of the kitchen and into a small sitting room. It has a lot of family pictures on the walls and the furniture looks completely untouched, like they keep this room arranged just for show. I can hear the muffled music playing on the other side of the house, but it’s otherwise quiet over here.

Ben guides me to a chaise lounge and pulls up an armchair so that he can sit beside me while I recline. I drink my water in silence. Ben is staring at his palms, elbows resting on his bent knees. 

“Well...thanks for the water, I think I’ll get back to the party now.” I try to lean forward and get up, but Ben puts a hand on my shoulder to push me back. He’s looking up at me through his lashes, his hand lingering on my shoulder.

“We’re not done yet, you know that Rey.”

My stomach drops. I had half-hoped he would be too drunk to remember his “promise” to me, but he doesn’t look like he’s had a single beer.

“We don’t have to do this Ben, let’s just go back, Rose will be looking for me.” He just shakes his head slowly and reaches into his pants pocket with his free hand. He pulls out a lighter and flicks the little wheel to ignite it. My eyes go wide. What is he going to do with that? Is he going to hurt me? Should I scream? Would anyone hear me over the music? He reaches into his shirt pocket and pulls out a joint.

“Smoke?” he asks, bringing it to his lips. 

“N-no. I don’t smoke,” I manage to say after calming the hammering in my heart.

He lights it, despite the fact that we’re in Hux’s perfect, untouched family room. He takes a long drag and blows the smoke into my face. Then, he rests it against my lips. When I don’t open my mouth, he moves his hand from my shoulder to my chin and parts my lips with his thumb, nestling the joint between them.

“Inhale.” My limbs feel too heavy to run away, and I also don’t want him to think he’s bested me with a little weed. So, I do as he says, and inhale deeply.

On the exhale, I realize that was a mistake. Puffs of smoke are forced out of my lungs as I cough uncontrollably and struggle to take a full breath of air. Ben’s not laughing at me like I thought he would; he just brings the joint back to his own lips and takes another pull, watching my coughing fit subside.

“Another,” he says, holding the joint up to my mouth again. I want to say no, but we’re all alone and with his eyes burning into me, I find that I can’t do anything but comply. His thumb and finger feel warm resting on my lips where he’s holding the joint. 

I close my eyes after my next coughing fit, listening to the crackling embers as Ben smokes the rest — thankfully he doesn’t offer me any more.

We sit in silence as our highs wash over us. I’m afraid to move much — the combination of weed and liquor makes the world spin at my slightest movement. 

I’m just starting to relax into the chaise, nearly forgetting Ben’s presence, when I hear him shift in his chair. I feel just his fingertips float from my wrist up to the crook of my arm, making the fine hairs there stand on end. His fingers dance their way up to my shoulder, then drift over to my collarbones. His touch is feather-light, but, somehow, it sears into my skin. I open my eyes slightly to watch through my lashes as his fingers move over my bare skin. His hand travels lower until it’s tracing the low V of my shirt’s neckline, rising and falling over the slight swell of my breasts.

“You look pretty tonight, did you dress up for me?” My mind works sluggishly to process his words and formulate a response. I want to tell him to shove it, that I don’t care what he thinks of me, but all that comes out is a weak “...no.”

Ben’s hand continues to move lower until he is cupping one breast over my shirt. I can feel his thumb lightly circling until my nipple hardens; he hums to himself when he feels it. My eyes are shut once more, since I can’t bear to look at what I’m allowing. If he hadn’t made me smoke, there’s no way I would still be laying here, letting him feel me up.

Abruptly, his hand leaves me and I relax into the chaise, realizing that I had been arching slightly into his touch. But seconds later, I feel his presence return when he straddles my legs, one knee on either side of my hips. 

I open my eyes to see that he has pinned me in place, and suddenly, I’m not very relaxed anymore. The ease that I had allowed myself to settle into during Ben’s soft caresses quickly morphs into heart-hammering anxiety. I squirm, struggling to free myself, but Ben wraps one large hand around my throat and presses me back into the cushions. He’s not exerting a lot of force, but I can see from the twitching muscles in his arm that he  _ could _ .

Keeping his one hand on my throat, I watch as his other hand pushes my shirt up to my bra and settles onto the small of my waist, fingers digging into my soft stomach.

“Why is it, Rey, that you keep finding yourself in my business, right where you don’t belong?”

I open my mouth to answer in indignation that, if it concerns the band, it’s  _ my _ business too, but before I can form the first word, I feel his fingers pressing on the sides of my throat. His eyes flick up to meet my look of surprise.

“What? Cat got your tongue?” The pressure on my throat increases so that I have to force deeper breaths. “When I tell you to stay out of my shit, to keep your little mouth closed, you do as I say, got it?”

I try to say ‘yes’, if only to put an end to this sooner, but all that comes out is a strangled squeak. Ben ignores it and decides to make his grip around my throat even tighter.

“You have no fucking clue what I deal with, what my bitch mom expects of me, how my loser uncle judges me, so don’t act like you have a place in all of that.” His hand slides across the width of my stomach then glides over my ribs until he’s pushing my shirt up to my chin. I absently wonder if anyone will catch us like this, and if I even want them to.

As my mind wanders, easily able to float away from this reality thanks to the weed and reduced oxygen, I am pulled back down to Earth when I feel Ben yank my bra down. My breasts are pushed up and together, both nipples embarrassingly hard. This does not go unnoticed by Ben.

“Enjoying our time together? You like it rough?” He watches my face as he thumbs over one nipple. My chest heaves and my lips part slightly. Another sound escapes me as he circles the other nipple and pinches it.

“What was that?” he asks as his hand tightens again around my throat. My vision starts to get fuzzy around the edges. Maybe he senses this, because he shifts on his knees and reaches into the back pocket of his pants. Seconds later his hand comes back around holding his phone. My eyes widen and I try to shake my head, rolling it a little bit from side to side on the chaise cushions.

Ben ignores my protest and holds the phone up, angling it to catch my face in the frame.

“Say ‘cheese’ for the camera,” he says before I hear the shutter snap a few pictures in quick succession. He pauses to look at the camera roll, smirking to himself. Apparently satisfied with his work, Ben’s hand loosens its grip on my throat, though he doesn’t let me up quite yet. I gasp in deep lungfuls of oxygen as my airways reopen, endorphins sending a soaring euphoria through my body. After my chest has stopped heaving so violently, Ben casually turns the phone screen to face me.

“Look at you — who knew you were hiding such a nice pair of tits under all those sports bras. I have a couple buddies who would love a look…” he trails off, watching for my reaction.

“ _ No! _ ” It comes out as a shout. “Please…” I lower my voice to a whisper. I decide I’d rather nobody found me like this, even if they could help. I’d like this embarrassment to be mine, and mine alone. But Ben is threatening that with the photos he’s taken. 

He begins flipping through the camera roll so that I can see every image he’s captured. To my horror, my face looked flushed and almost aroused, even though I’d been fighting for breath the whole time. “I think this one’s my favorite,” he says as he zooms in to show my eyes closed, brows knit together, and mouth open in a small O.

“Ben, I’m sorry,  _ okay? _ Please don’t show anyone, I’ll leave you alone — you’ll never hear from me again.” The volume of my voice climbs with my rising anxiety. I would  _ die _ if these pictures got out. I’m applying for college soon, and I can’t have universities finding my nudes when they Google my name.

“Hmmm…” Ben looks up at the ceiling as he feigns deep thought. “Alright, I’ll keep these between us, but you’ll have to answer to me from now on — no more calling me out in front of Luke, no more ordering me around;  _ I’ll _ tell you what to do. If you can handle that, your pics are safe with me.” He stows his phone back in his pocket.

I nod fervently. “Yes, yes, whatever you want,” I said in relief. Ben smirks at that, but I can’t see the humor. 

Finally, he releases my neck; my hand flies up to replace his, feeling for injuries. It’s tender, and I pray that he hasn’t left any marks on my skin. He takes one last long look at me before climbing off of the chaise. He adjusts his pants when he stands, but I can still see them tenting. He catches me looking and grins.

“What? You’ve got great tits, who would’ve thought?” Realizing I’m still exposed, I quickly fix my bra and yank my shirt back down, crossing my arms protectively across my chest.

“Don’t be so shy, sweetcheeks — you can’t hide from me anymore.” He steps towards me, one hand reaching for me, and I shrink back into the chaise, but he only brushes a few stray hairs out of my face. Then his hand drops to my jeans, and my eyes go wide, but he only slips his fingers into either front pocket until he comes away with my car keys. 

“It looks like you’re drunk  _ and  _ high — very irresponsible, Rey. I don’t want you getting hurt, so I’ll hang onto these, and you can have them back on Monday, as long as you ask nicely.” He slips my keys into his pocket, ignoring the incredulous look on my face; I’m stunned to silence.

“You know what...give me your phone.” I have no choice but to pull it from my back pocket and hand it over. I’m moving slowly though, like I’m swimming through air thick as water.

He presses the home button then looks back at me. “Passcode?”

“4-5-3-2,” I answer. My voice sounds distant to my own ears. He taps away at the screen for a few seconds and then I hear the  _ whoosh _ of a text being sent from my phone, and the  _ ding _ of one being received on another. “Text me when you get home so I know you’re alive.” He tosses the phone into my lap then takes one last long look at me before leaving me alone in Hux’s weirdly untouched living room.

I sink back into the chaise, willing the room to stop spinning. But my head is pounding and I can’t focus my eyes. A wave of nausea crashes over me suddenly and I roll onto my side, vomiting red jungle juice all over the perfectly white carpet. I hang my head limply over the arm of the chaise when my stomach is done heaving.  _ Fuck me. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Twitter: escape_2020_


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